What do you do if your team is experiencing a lack of diversity and inclusion?

One thing I find useful in leadership is to preach what you practice and practice what you preach . Always lead by example. Team work is dream work .

I believe the issue of diversity needs to be reflected as adding not threatening to the whole experience . We fear what we don’t understand We reject others not like us ….until we realise that we are in fact the same ….if we just expand our definitions of who we are

Empower the team to think, propose, implement and succeed. The solutions is available in the team . You have to lead the to connect all the pieces of the puzzle together.

One of the biggest reason on missing diversity and inclusion is at Hiring stage, be vigilant during hiring and have people from diversified background which is not just gender ratio but location, backgrounds, experiences and hobbies. Also, give internal talent the recognition and progression they deserve on a timely basis, that way you can encourage and suppress the numbers in underrepresented group.

Consistently assess advancements and adapt approaches as necessary. Have open dialogue with your team mates regarding diversity issues and implement stratergies to overcome starting from building a culture of respect and belonging.

People wrongfully assume that setting goals in this case means setting up quotas or targets of hiring. While a diverse and inclusive organisation should have diverse and inclusive teams just stating that as a goal won't actually change the organisation. Assuming it is something you care about you need to build a culture of physiological safety where employees feel they can raise issues with management. While setting SMART goals is important you need to be aware that it mostly means changing processes and policies and advocating as a founder/C-level for this. First goal is to show the team you care and are able and willing to put the time and effort to support this change. if the leadership doesn't do it employees won't do it.

In addressing diversity and inclusion gaps, setting SMART goals is crucial. For example, aiming to boost the representation of underrepresented groups in leadership roles by a specific percentage within a set timeframe provides a clear, actionable target. This approach not only outlines a precise roadmap for progress but also establishes benchmarks for measuring success. Crucially, communicating these goals across the organization ensures that all team members are aligned, understand the value of the initiatives, and are committed to the collective effort required to achieve meaningful change.

Such goals take time. Clear norms for inclusion and training and development plans are critical. There is a reason why some may have been "excluded" and steps need to be identified to help raise levels to allow for inclusion. Also, it helps when teams are empowered to act collectively to introduce qualified and hard-working people who are keen to step up. This collective selection allows for greater ease of inclusion and acceptability, subject to pre-specified norms and standards.

The easiest way to bring 'otherness' into your organization is by involving the 'other' in your recruitment and hiring. We often recycle previous job posts and advertise openings most through our own direct circles - leading to sameness. If you want a different outcome find a HR or Recruitment partner representative of the otherness you seek and let them rewrite the job posts, advertise the opening through their channels / profiles (different algorhytms), include them in the screening and interviews, package negotiations etc. I would also consider keeping them involved as HR support for the new hires such that being 'the other' in an undiverse organization does not lead to attrition and to obtain learnings to retain diverse talent.

Create Strategy Create Goals for Organization and Employees Create Incentive Plans Create & Diversify Working Strategy Seeking Personal Opinions of Employees

This is easier said then done for most leaders. However the core is as the leader being the person who drives the discussion and shares their own experiences. for the team to be able to talk about this they need to feel the leadership cares and acts upon this and also feel they will be listened. You should engage with this topic on a recurring basis not just as a one off. add it to your all hands (mention something you noticed last week or an insight about how a customer is behaving) the more you should it's ok to talk about DEI the easier it will be for the team to do it. Allow the team to raise fears and lack of knowledge not everyone are aware about the terms and different experience people have, sharing will allow people to connect.

In an age of regular job losses, there will always be employee fear of job losses when "others" are brought in, who may be more qualified, willing to work harder and able to achieve more. Therefore, the responsibility and "load" of ensuring inclusion has to rest with top management, with the team's involvement, as best as possible, and with pre-specified and well-communicated norms.

Diversity is less about legal or managerial definitions and more about how we view the world around us and leverage that. In the absence of apparent diversity, I encourage people to explore differences and appreciate. For instance, hobbies or family backgorund could provide the differences to practice acceptance of diversity. A mountaineer would learn to respect a painter!

I have not experienced this to date in the oil and gas industry. Predominantly West Texas, East Texas, South Texas, GOM, and most of the upper 48. Our industry simply prefers humans that desire to work for a set wage. My recent MBA experience at the university of Oklahoma in energy-oil and gas specifically was 50% male/female. Feels like a great industry it’s a shame that it’s not appreciated or showcased as the leading energy industry

Diversity and Inclusion is difficult to achieve since it is very much human nature for birds of a feather to flock together. Worse, when attempting D&I, it is VERY EASY to lower standards to achieve popularity in other groups. The KEY, therefore, is to focus on norms and necessary training & development for identified people. Without additional effort and focus on this, it is easy to achieve the stated goal but hurting the organisation and it's standards. Also, it is critical to ensure that roadblocks and biases that existing, competent people in the company may face and encounter internally, are duly addressed and removed objectively. Easier said than done. Culture has to be set from the top and continuously managed.

Read Lily Zheng’s books — they share a strategic, systemic approach that’s also pragmatic and highly useful for business leaders.

Great points have been mentioned here. What I can emphasize is that the leaders must build an environment of trust. Leaders who communicate openly, who include not only the opinions that are different but demonstrate that serious consideration was given to the diverse opinions build trust.

We need to watch the patterns of team developments. Once we understand the pattern it’s easier to channelise the energies to a direction of inclusion. Inclusion comes or generates from within, while diversity is a design element that’s driven from creators of the teams